This invention relates to combination or permutation locks, for luggage, for example, and is particularly concerned with combination locks in which the combination may be changed by the user.
Combination locks which permit the user to change the combination are well-known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,416,338; 3,597,945; and 3,720,082, all assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. In the combination locks disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,416,338 and 3,597,945, a plurality of combination dials and cooperating sleeves rotate about a common axis. The sleeves are normally coupled to corresponding dials for rotation therewith. Except when the dials are on-combination, the sleeves block movement of a slide relative to the sleeves that is required to open the lock. To change the combination, the sleeves are uncoupled from the corresponding dials by moving the sleeves axially relative to the dials. In the combination lock of U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,082, sleeves are moved axially in one direction relative to the combination dials to open the lock and are moved axially in the opposite direction to permit the combination to be changed. The present invention is in some respects an improvement upon the combination locks of the aforesaid patents, particularly with respect to the changing of the combination.